The next book in the Rainbow Series covers Finnish Fighters used during WWII.Camouflage and markings of the fighters obtained from France, USA, Germany, UK and the USSR are described in unparalleled detail by the well-known Finnish author Kari Stenman. Many unpublished photos, and colour profiles.

When the Winter War erupted in November 1939, Finland mustered just 41 "modern" interceptors – Fokker D.XXIs – against hundreds of Soviet aerial aggressors.

The dauntless defenders quickly concluded contracts for fighters from England, Italy, France and the United States. And those warplanes comprise the contents of Finnish Fighter Colours 1939-1945 – the first of a terrific, two-part study from MMP and also available in North America from Casemate:

Bristol Bulldog II, IVa

Fokker D.XXI

Gloster Gladiator II

FIAT G.50

Morane-Saulnier MS 406

Brewster Model 239

Coverage of each aircraft divides into two parts: service summary in the "Winter" and "Continuation" conflicts – and camouflage & markings notes with selected aircraft examples.

Speaking of which: Karolina Holda's color profiles are simply superb. Hers remain some of the finest, most accurate I've ever seen. Now I know why she shares authorship with the legendary Kari Stenman.

Accounts also run rampant with fascinating facts. A "totally obsolete" Bristol Bulldog scored the "first aerial victory ever over Finland". Finland's first ace downed six Soviet bombers in just four minutes. And Finland's formula for temporary winter whitewash merely comprised a washable mix of chalk and glue!

Three appendices on Finland's national insigne, "numbers & letters," and camouflage colors – the last with Federal Standard matches for the country's distinctive Sotamaalaus ["Warpaint"] – conclude contents.

MMP has polished its deservedly resplendent reputation with gems like these. East-Front Axis aircraft enthusiast? Grab this book – now. I eagerly – and impatiently – await its sequel.

Roundly recommended!

IPMSUSA.org  2015-01-29

Here is the newest book in MMP’s “White Series”: Finnish Fighter Colours 1939-1945, Volume One. The author, Kari Stenman, is a name long associated with publications on the Finnish Air Force. Just scanning through my library, I see him as the author of several Osprey “Aircraft of the Aces” books, as well as a Squadron/Signal book. In fact, in the acknowledgements section of this book he mentions research assistance he has received over the last forty-five years! This book is clearly written by a dedicated expert in the field.

The book itself is hardbound, with a nice glossy cover and the 200+ pages within are produced on high-quality stock with a matt finish. Photos, mostly black and white, are on virtually every page. Most are at least ¼ page in size. Numerous, extremely high-quality side profiles are also present. Text is all in English, and is very well-written.

This is Volume One of a two-part series. The series is not separated by chronology, but rather by aircraft type. Aircraft covered here are:

The breakdown of this book is a little different than I anticipated. I expected to see a general discussion of Finnish AF camouflage and markings, followed by specific applications to different airframes. Instead, the author provides a brief, one-page introduction, and then dives right into the aircraft types. The overall discussion of Finnish camouflage and markings is present, but it is in the form of appendices at the end of the book. This is by no means an issue, just not the order in which I was expecting things. The information is all there, and is quite comprehensive.

So, after a page of acknowledgements, and a page introducing and summarizing the war situation, the author immediately starts in with the first aircraft. Each aircraft type has two sections dedicated to it. The first section covers operational history of the type in Finnish service, while the second discusses specific camouflage and markings. Both sections have photos with in-depth captions describing the markings. The second section includes numerous full-page color profiles (both side and top/bottom views), accompanied by photos of the subject. This section in particular I found to be extremely clear and well-presented.

There is a LOT of information in these chapters, not just about markings but also about the men and machines themselves. Plenty of anecdotes about individual missions are included, along with a lot of facts and statistics regarding the Finnish Air Force. The size of each section varies by aircraft. For example, the Bristol Bulldog is covered in just 8 pages; the Brewster 239 has over 50.

The appendices in this book are as valuable as the main text. They are as follows:

Appendix One: “National and Registration Markings” covers the evolution of the Finnish national insignia markings, complete with proportionate drawings.

Appendix Two: “Numbers and Letters” - an original chart is reproduced here showing all the various numbers/letters in the proper font. I am sure this could be scanned and used for making one’s own stencils or decals.

Appendix Three: “Colours & Warpaints”. This is a key appendix – a complete discussion of the evolution of Finnish AF camouflage, complete with technical order excerpts and colors used. There is a table listing all Finnish colors, their FS equivalents, and which airframes these colors were applied to. There is also a section in here dedicated to “Eastern Front Markings.” The yellow theater markings used to denote Luftwaffe aircraft operating on the Eastern Front were also applied to Finnish machines, since they were comrades in arms against the Soviet Union. Here are just a few of the many interesting tidbits in this appendix: washable glue (with chalk) was used for the white winter camouflage per official order; often a lemon yellow color was used for the Eastern Front markings as stocks of RLM04 equivalent color ran out.

MMP’s Finnish Fighter Colours book is another first-rate publication from the folks at MMP. It is clearly a labor of love for the author, and his research and dedication shows on every page. Production quality, as well as content, is first-rate. If you are interested in this subject, this is a must-add for your collection. There are loads of photos and gorgeous, well-documented color profiles.

Absolutely recommended! And I am very much looking forward to Volume 2.

Air Modeller No. 56  2015-01-29

Aeroscale.co.uk  2015-01-29

by: Rowan Baylis [ MERLIN ]

New from MMP Books comes the first part in what looks set to be a truly essential guide to the fighters flown by the Finnish air force in the periods before and during the Winter War and Continuation War. In fact the book’s title hardly does it justice, because the authors Kari Stenman and Karolina Hołda do far more than simply describe the colours used; instead, each of the aircraft covered is described in two stages. First, its service history in Finnish hands, and then the specific camouflage used.

The service histories make fascinating reading, as the Finnish pilots racked up quite phenomenal tallies against the numerically superior Soviet air force, and continued to score heavily in fighters that were considered obsolescent or failures elsewhere. Even the totally outmoded Bristol Bulldog managed to down a Polikarpov I-16 monoplane in December 1939, when just 4 of the veteran biplanes scrambled to intercept a mixed force of 40 bombers and 20 fighters!

The aircraft covered in Volume One are:

Bristol Bulldog Mk.II and IVa

Fokker D.XXI

Gloster Gladiator Mk.II

Fiat G.50

Morane-Saulnier MS 406

Brewster Model 239 Buffalo

Following that, the Appendices tackle national insignia and registration markings with reference to original documents, before covering the development of Finnish camouflage in general, ending with a very useful list of the colours used on each aircraft type, together with the nearest FS equivalents.

One of the beauties of the Finnish air force from a modeller’s perspective is the sheer variety of foreign aircraft flown. Each arrived painted initially in the standard contemporary camouflage of its county of origin, before being re-camouflaged to a lesser or greater degree (often in the field) and, eventually, receiving in most cases a full overhaul and repaint in the Finnish Warpaint schemes developed in 1940.

This gives rise to a wonderful blend of hybrid schemes. Then, add to that temporary winter camouflage patterns and some truly epic levels of weathering (particularly on the Fiat G.50, where the original Italian paints showed quite extraordinary degrees of flaking) and you’ve got my personal type of model painting paradise.

All of this is brought to life vividly with a great selection of original photos, overwhelmingly new to me and reproduced here beautifully, plus a selection of really excellent colour profiles backed up by accompanying reference shots.

The book is printed on high quality stock and hardbound, and comes with a price tag of £35, which may sadly deter casual buyers. However, when you consider the huge amount of information packed into the 208 pages, I consider it's actually excellent value for money; indeed, if you view it in terms of the number of fighter types covered in detail, it works out at just £5.83 per aircraft - and you are highly unlikely to find individual studies of this quality for a price like that.

conclusion

If you're interested in the Finnish air force in WW2, I think the new book from MMP is essential reading. I’ve found the subject fascinating as long as I can remember, and this volume presents a mass of information I’ve never seen elsewhere. It’s a great read and - always a sign of a good aircraft book for me - got the modelling juices flowing to the point where I bought the new 1:32 Special Hobby “Finnish” G.50 to keep me busy while I wait for Volume 2 to be published, which promises a further bewildering array of foreign types in Finnish colours! Thoroughly recommended.